Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I have a question for any of you vets/nutritionists
I know that fiddleneck is poisonous and heard that the brain damage is 
irreversible--- and that most times horses will avoid it--- but-- is it 
like the lupine that Heidi is talking about? Is it poisonous at only 
certain stages of growth? and is it the flower or stem that is poisonous 
and at what stage?
I ask only because I have been killing myself to find every little 
fiddleneck in pasture and just when I think I have pulled all of them up 
by their little necks, some babies spring up out of nowhere. UGH!!!
Bette, who does not want her horses to get brain damage

heidi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> > Ed, I know I've read that lupine is poisonous, however, a
> > nat. geographic horse special showed wild horses that ate
> > the lupine at certain stages of their flowering. I have a
> > gelding that was pretty much raised wild, til the age of 5
> > anyway. I ride in some Weyerhauser clear cuts and there is
> > one trail that goes by a particularily large lupine plant.
> > My gelding will dive into this plant to grab a huge
> > mouthful of flowers, ripping reins out of my hands!! He's
> > also particularily fond of the tiny purple thistles,
> > stopping to happily munch the tops off, even when the are
> > brown and seemingly unappetizing. I think they are milk
> > thistles? Anyway, I've let him eat the lupine, he's so
> > intent on having some, not at any time of the year, only
> > when flowering. (Not sure at exactly what stage of the
> > flowers though.) The only horse I have that does this as
> > well!!!! Any medicinal purposes to these plants that my
> > horse may know about?
> >    
>
> I don't know of anything medicinally useful about lupine, but if ingested
> at a critical point of early pregnancy it can cause some pretty nasty
> birth defects.  It is a real problem in cattle.
>
> Heidi
>
>
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--
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians
Home of 16.2h TLA Halynov
who lives on through his legacy
Hal's Riverdance!
http://www.arabiansporthorse.com

Always remember: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." (George Carlin)



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There are 2 ways to win at this sport. You take a horse and race him for a
short time and then find a new horse or you can take one horse , do the
homework and spend many miles and years enjoying that horse.
~  Paddi Sprecher

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